How far ahead of the pack are you?

By definition, a leader stays ahead of the pack. That can mean taking an uncomfortable stance that’s years ahead of its time.

In 1913, seven years before U.S. women won the right to vote, the chancellor of Syracuse University weighed in on the subject during a talk he had planned to make about something else.

“Do I believe in women’s rights? Certainly, I do,” James R. Day told students. “I was born in the home of a prohibitionist and the home of an abolitionist in the state of Maine, and I know that my mother was just as capable of voting as my father. Do I believe in women voting? Certainly, I do. I always have. Women will win the vote when the time arrives, and they will win it by their superior ways of management. Women know how to manage, and don’t you let that fact get away from you.”

So, how are you running ahead of the pack in your organization? Are you creating new services for customers? Instituting cost-saving strategies? Offering breakthrough benefits to seal employees’ loyalty?